There was something about the morning light that made lies look smaller.
I almost wished it didn't.
Sienna's reflection lingered on the window even after she'd walked away to take a call, her voice low and steady in the other room. Calm, collected, untouchable.
Except I'd seen the tremor in her hands when Damien mentioned Kai.
She was scared.
Not that she'd ever admit it.
I turned back to the laptop on the counter. The decrypted portion of the flash drive blinked on the screen numbers, transfers, shell accounts. Beneath it, a new line of code I hadn't noticed before was quietly rewriting itself.
A self-corrupting file. Clever.
"Kai wanted us to open this," I muttered.
Damien glanced up from his tablet. "You think it's a tracker?"
"No." I zoomed in on the script, heart ticking up. "It's a signal."
He frowned. "To who?"
"Whoever's running him."
The cursor froze. A new folder appeared by itself. HELLO CYRUS.
Well, that was unsettling.
I clicked. The screen flickered to black, then a grainy video feed blinked to life.
Not old live.
Sienna's office. Empty, lights off. Except… movement near the window.
"Damien," I said quietly.
"On it." He was already on the phone, barking orders to the security team.
The figure in the feed turned toward the camera. A man in a dark coat. Smiling.
Kai Louis.
He held up his phone, as if he could see me through the screen. Then he lifted a glass of something wine, probably and toasted the camera before walking out of frame.
The feed cut.
I closed the laptop, slow and deliberate, like I was sealing something dangerous shut.
Damien's voice came through the call: "Our team just reached the building. He's gone. Elevator cameras show him entering at 8:05, leaving at 8:09. No breach alarms, no forced entry."
"Of course not," I said. "He didn't come to steal anything. He came to say he could."
I stood, shrugging on my coat. "Get the car ready."
Damien blinked. "You're going after him?"
"I'm going to remind him he's not the only one who knows how to send a message.
The city moved fast at nine a.m. horns, suits, noise but inside the car it was quiet. My phone buzzed with updates, none of them useful.
Sienna texted once: Leaving in 10. Don't worry.
I didn't answer.
There was a time when I believed distance kept people safe. I'm starting to think it just makes it easier for threats to find the gaps.
By the time we reached the underground parking of the Moon Enterprise, the adrenaline had settled into focus. Damien handed me a tablet with Kai's movement logs.
"He left his car two blocks from here," Damien said. "Walked the rest of the way. Clean route. No tails."
"Because he wanted us to see him on our cameras," I said. "He's challenging us."
"What's the play?"
"Containment."
I took the elevator up, every floor feeling longer than the last. When the doors opened to Sienna's office, the smell of her perfume still hung faintly in the air, but the rest of the space looked… violated. Not trashed just touched.
A single tulip sat in a glass of water on her desk. White.
I stared at it for a full ten seconds before speaking. "He's mocking her."
Damien exhaled. "I'll have the security team"
"Leave it." I picked up the flower, twirled it between my fingers, and smiled without humor. "Let's see how he likes it when the game flips."
I placed the tulip in my jacket pocket and turned to go.
"Where to?" Damien asked.
"The source."
"Kai?"
"No," I said. "Blackwood"
By noon, I was standing in the lobby of Blackwood Industries, greeted by a secretary who looked like she'd rather be anywhere else.
"Mr. Vale," she said carefully. "Mr. Blackwood isn't expecting you."
"He never does." I smiled. "Tell him it's about his missing flower delivery."
Confusion flickered in her eyes, but she buzzed me through.
Inside, Blackwood's office smelled like expensive whiskey and fear hidden behind cologne. He looked up from his desk, smile just shy of cordial. "Cyrus. To what do I owe this unannounced pleasure?"
I dropped the white tulip on his desk.
He blinked. "I don't..."
"Don't lie," I cut in softly. "Louis left it in Sienna's office this morning. Your boss. I just wanted to return the favor."
For a split second, his composure cracked. Then the smile slid back into place. "You're mistaken. Kai works with me, I don't work under him."
"Cute distinction," I said. "You might want to remind him he's playing with the wrong people."
I turned to leave, then paused. "Oh, and Blackwood?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"Next time you send flowers," I said, "bring your own coffin."
Back in the car, I finally opened my phone. A new message waited. No name, just a number.
Nice visit.
Your turn.
I stared at it for a long time, then typed back:
You're running out of games, Louis.
A moment later:
On the contrary, Cyrus. The queen's still on the board.
My blood ran colder than I'd like to admit.
Because the queen wasn't me.
It was Sienna.